asked the Minister for Health whether health examinations for primary school children are held regularly; the frequency with which they are held; the number of staff employed on the work; and the number of children examined in the last three years.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Medical Examinations.
19.
A child generally receives three health examinations while at national school, with intervals of about three years between each examination. Over the country as a whole, more than one third of the national schools are visited each year by the school medical officers while in some areas, including Dublin city, over half the schools are visited annually.
About 70 assistant chief medical officers are employed on school health examinations.
The number of children examined in the last three years for which statistics are available was 146,188 in 1966, 143,772 in 1967 and 128,447 in 1968.
Is the Minister saying that over an average school child's career in the primary school he is given a comprehensive medical examination on three occasions?
Each child on average should receive about three examinations.
And the Minister is saying that this, in fact, occurs for every primary Irish school child?
Not every child. These are averages. There are some schools where the inspection is less satisfactory than in others. As the Deputy knows, we are having an expanded child health service in which all this matter is being examined and we are taking the advice of the experts who unanimously say that it is far better to give a comprehensive examination to pre-school children and then have a more selective examination for children when they go to national schools. In that way we will do more sound preventive work. That is the universal opinion of the experts I have asked about it.
I agree with the Minister that everything his Department faces is a complex matter requiring experts but would the Minister say that it is possible in this extremely difficult job of giving a medical examination to primary school children for a school child to pass through primary school without receiving one such medical examination despite the complexity of the problem?
I would not say that it was possible.
Would the Minister think there is no likelihood of this happening?
Yes, but there, again, we shall have more control of all that when we have established a system of keeping the child's medical record card which will enable us to trace the number of examinations for each child and enable the medical authorities to be much more aware of the child's condition and his predispositions. The whole system is being re-organised.
Would the Minister, in facing this deeply complex matter——
We cannot discuss this question all evening. I am calling Question No. 20.
If we ask this question next week would the Minister be able to give the figure for the number of children who did not receive medical examinations?
I do not think I could. I do not think the records are kept in sufficient detail.
There are no records?
Would Deputy O'Leary please allow questions to proceed? The Deputy is monopolising Question Time and we have 300 questions on the Order Paper. Will the Deputy please resume his seat for a moment?
The health of the nation is at stake.
(Interruptions.)
Order, I am calling Question No. 20.
20.
Dr. Browne, Mr. M. O'Leary
andDr. O'Connell asked the Minister for Health the total number of national schools and the numbers in which school medical examinations have been completed in respect of eligible children in each of the years from 1960 to 1968 inclusive.
As the reply to the question is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following is the statement:
|
Year |
Total Number of National Schools |
Number of Schools Examined under School Medical Service |
|
1960 |
4,882 |
2,301* |
|
1961 |
4,880 |
2,180 |
|
1962 |
4,867 |
2,394 |
|
1963 |
4,864 |
2,317 |
|
1964 |
4,848 |
2,177 |
|
1965 |
4,847 |
1,601 |
|
1966 |
4,797 |
2,028 |
|
1967 |
4,685 |
1,944 |
|
1968 |
4,450 |
1,643 |
*Estimated